A former police officer will spend one year on probation for assaulting his wife.A judge sentenced former Niles officer Chris Clark to that and 90 days on a tether. He'll also cover his wife's medical bills for minor injuries.Clark pleaded no contest to domestic violence charges. He resigned Monday after serving the department for nine years.

Niles officer resigns in wake of domestic assault charges
Tribune Staff Report
January 24, 2008http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/14037862.html?m=yNILES — A Niles police officer arrested earlier this month on a domestic assault charge has resigned his position. Niles City Administrator Terry Eull said Chris Clark, 36, a nine-year veteran of the department, submitted his resignation Monday. He offered no other details.Clark had been suspended with pay after the alleged incident at his home Jan. 10.Clark’s wife, Victoria, suffered what Michigan State Police in Niles described as minor injuries and was treated and released at Lakeland Community Hospital.Clark was arraigned Jan. 11 in Berrien Trial Court and was released after posting a $1,000 cash or surety bond.Another court appearance was scheduled for Thursday, a court spokeswoman said.

NILES — A Niles police officer arrested earlier this month on a domestic assault charge has resigned his position. Niles City Administrator Terry Eull said Chris Clark, 36, a nine-year veteran of the department, submitted his resignation Monday. He offered no other details.Clark had been suspended with pay after the alleged incident at his home Jan. 10.Clark’s wife, Victoria, suffered what Michigan State Police in Niles described as minor injuries and was treated and released at Lakeland Community Hospital.Clark was arraigned Jan. 11 in Berrien Trial Court and was released after posting a $1,000 cash or surety bond.Another court appearance was scheduled for Thursday, a court spokeswoman said.

NILES — Former Niles police officer Chris Clark was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days on tether for assaulting his wife earlier this month.

The department had suspended him after the incident. He resigned Monday, City Administrator Terry Eull said.

The sentencing occurred in Berrien County Trial Court after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

Clark, 36, was arrested Jan. 10 after state police were called to his family's Airport Road home in Niles. He was charged with domestic violence against his wife, Victoria, and possession of a firearm while under the influence.The latter charge was dismissed Wednesday as part of a plea agreement, Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Travis said. She said Clark pleaded no contest because of his lack of memory of the incident due to his level of intoxication.

In addition to the tether, Clark must serve 12 months probation, pay $360 in supervision fees and $550 in fines and costs. He must pay up to $3,000 restitution to cover his wife's medical bills from the assault.

Travis said Clark must take a domestic violence inventory to see if any substance abuse or anger management treatment is needed. He was placed on a curfew, ordered to have no contact with his wife and son and possess no firearm.Travis said Judge Scott Schofield further ordered Clark to comply with all Family Court orders since he and his wife are in the process of divorce.

She said Schofield imposed the tether sentence because of the potential danger in the Jan. 10 incident with Clark's level of intoxication and his access to weapons.Travis said Clark's wife spoke in court before the sentencing. His wife said the situation had devastated her family and that Clark needs help for his alcohol problem.

Since Clark said he couldn't remember the incident, the court at Victoria's request played the 911 dispatch tape so Clark could hear how the incident affected her and her son, Travis said.

The domestic violence charge carried a maximum 93-day jail term, while the maximum term of the firearm charge is 90 days in jail.

The police force remains at full strength even with Clark's departure, Eull said. Eull said an officer who had been sent to the county's drug enforcement team for a three-year assignment came back after only one year because of county budget cuts.

Niles officer arrested
By ERIKA PICKLES
Niles Daily Star
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 10:44 AM ESThttp://www.nilesstar.com/articles/2008/01/15/news/ndnews1.txtNILES - On Thursday, Jan. 10 around 10 p.m., Michigan State Police, Niles post, responded to a 911 call of a possible domestic dispute between a husband and wife.Upon arrival, troopers arrested Niles City Police officer Chris Clark for domestic violence against his wife, Victoria, according to Lt. Michael Brown of the Michigan State Police.Brown added that no weapons were used and that Clark, 36, was taken to the Berrien County Jail in St. Joseph, where he was lodged. Capt. James Merriman said Clark posted a $1,000 bond the next morning.Merriman said Clark, an eight-year veteran who joined the department in September 1999, has been suspended with pay, pending an internal investigation.A case trial has been scheduled for Friday, according to the records department at the court house.

NILES — A Niles police officer is on indefinite suspension with pay after being arrested last week for allegedly assaulting his wife.

City Administrator Terry Eull confirmed Monday that Patrolman Chris Clark was arrested last Thursday after police were called to his home on Airport Road. Eull said Clark has been on the Niles force about 10 years.

Eull said Niles city police originally responded to the call to the Clark home but soon turned over the matter to the Michigan State Police, who showed up on the scene a short time later.

He said Clark was lodged that night in the Berrien County Jail on a domestic violence charge. Eull said it was his understanding that Clark bonded out of jail Friday after posting $1,000 bond. He said he didn't know if Clark has been arraigned yet or if any court dates had been set.

Eull said Clark's suspension is indefinite pending the resolution of the court case against him.

NILES — A Niles city police officer has been suspended with pay after he allegedly assaulted his wife.

Chris Clark, 36, a nine-year veteran of the department, was charged with domestic assault in the wake of the Thursday night incident, said 1st Lt. Michael Brown, commander of Michigan State Police in Niles.

Booked at the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department in St. Joseph, Clark was arraigned the next day in Berrien County Trial Court and released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. A case conference was set for Friday.

Brown said the victim of the alleged assault was Clark’s wife, Victoria. She suffered minor injuries and was released after treatment at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles, he said.

Brown said no weapons were involved.

Chris Clark, 36, a nine-year veteran of the Niles Police Department, was charged with domestic assault for an incident that occurred on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008. (Photo provided)